Canadian Music

In 1971, the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) established Canadian Content regulations in order to support Canadian artists and Canadian content. According to current regulations, radio stations (in both languages) must ensure that at least 35% of the music broadcast each week is Canadian content, and at least 35% of the music broadcast between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday is Canadian content (50% if the station is owned by CBC or Radio-Canada). What is "Canadian Content" is defined by the MAPL system (Music Artist Performance Lyrics) as described here.

Prior to this regulation, Canadian music was widely ignored, by everyone. According to the CRTC, the purpose of CanCon regulations can be summed up as:

"Canadian attitudes, opinions, ideas, values and artistic creativity are shaped by our history and geography, our institutions and our linguistic and cultural diversity. They're part of our shared experience and our Canadian identity. The Broadcasting Act recognizes this and declares that the Canadian broadcasting system should encourage the development of Canadian expression"

To the layman, the purpose of CanCon is evident in the explosion of Canadian artists and musicians since the 1970's. When the regulations were first introduced, nearly every station was forced to play Gordon Lightfoot or Anne Murray at least once a day. Now there are more than enough artists to support 100% Canadian Radio stations (Check out one here)

Famous musicians from Canada:

Alberta

• Jann Arden
• Paul Brandt
• Cadence Weapon
• Corb Lund
• Faunts
• George Fox
• k.d. lang
• Loverboy
• Michael McCann
• Joni Mitchell
• Nickelback (based out of Vancouver)
• Shout Out Out Out Out
• Tegan and Sara

British Columbia

• Three Inches of Blood
• 54-40
• Art of Dying
• Ashley Park
• Geoff Berner
• Baba Brinkman
• Michael Buble
• Chilliwack (and earlier, The Collectors)
• cub
• The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
• The Dayglo Abortions
• Default
• Delerium
• Destroyer
• D.O.A.
• Doug and the Slugs
• Econoline Crush
• Frog Eyes
• Front Line Assembly
• Nelly Furtado
• GOB
• Hedley
• Heart (though the members themselves are from Seattle, they formed in Vancouver)
• Hey Ocean!
• Hot Hot Heat
• Diana Krall
• Limblifter
• Marianas Trench
• Matthew Good Band
  • Matthew Good
• Moist
  • David Usher
• Mother Mother
• The New Pornographers
  • A.C. Newman
• Prism
• Raffi (though he's Armenian-Egyptian, he's officially a Canadian citizen)
• Said the Whale
• Skinny Puppy
• Spirit of the West
• Stabilo
• State of Shock
• Swan Lake
• Sweatshop Union
• Swollen Members
• Theory of a Deadman
• Devin Townsend
• Trooper
• The Veer Union
• Wolf Parade
• You Say Party
  • Formerly You Say Party! We Say Die!
• Yukon Blonde
• Zumpano

Manitoba

• Susan Aglukark
• Comeback Kid
• Bachman-Turner Overdrive
• Holly Mc Narland
• Bif Naked
• Tom Cochrane
• Crash Test Dummies
• The Guess Who
• Harlequin
• Chantal Kreviazuk
  • (Married to the frontman of Our Lady Peace, below)
• Daniel Lavoie
• Loreena McKennitt
• Venetian Snares
• The Watchmen
• The Weakerthans

Newfoundland and Labrador

• Great Big Sea
• Hey Rosetta!
• Terry Kelly

Nova Scotia

• April Wine
• Buck 65
• Classified
• Jenn Grant
• Ashley MacIsaac
• MacLean & MacLean
• Matt Mays & El Torpedo
• Sarah McLachlan
• Anne Murray
• Joel Plaskett
• Plumtree
• The Rankin Family
• Sloan
• Hank Snow
• The Trews
• Wintersleep

Ontario

• Bryan Adams (born and lived till age 3, now based out of Vancouver)
• Alexisonfire
  • And Dallas Green's side project City and Colour
• Paul Anka
• Annihilator
• Anvil
• The Arkells
• The Arrogant Worms
• Ayria
• Aidan Baker
• Avril Lavigne
• The Band - four of five members were Canadians, one of them half-native.
• Barenaked Ladies
• Bedouin Soundclash
• Bent Wind
• Justin Bieber
• Big Sugar
• Big Wreck (from Boston, but their front-man Ian Thornley is very Canadian, thus making them most successful there).
• Billy Talent
• The Birthday Massacre
• Jully Black
• Blue Rodeo
• Broken Social Scene
  • Feist (from Alberta, but her professional career has been based in Toronto, with some time recording in France)
• By Divine Right - Feist was once a member of this band as well
• Divine Brown
• Cancer Bats
• Choclair
• Bruce Cockburn (pronounced Co-burn)
• Stompin' Tom Connors (born in New Brunswick and raised there, Nova Scotia, and on Prince Edward Island; lived during his professional career in Ontario)
• Deadmau5
• Deborah Cox
• Die Mannequin
• The Creepshow
• Jim Cuddy
• Hugh Dillon
• Drake
• Emm Gryner
• Kathleen Edwards
• Finger Eleven
• Enter The Haggis
• Five Man Electrical Band
• The Fringe
• Frozen Ghost
• Fucked Up
• Hail The Villain
• Helix
• Sarah Harmer
• Jeff Healey
• Henri Fabergé and the Adorables
• Holy Fuck
• Honeymoon Suite
• I Mother Earth
• Idle Sons
• illScarlet
• Kardinal Offishall
• k-os
• Kittie
• Klaatu
• Glenn Lewis
• Gordon Lightfoot
• Lighthouse
• Lights
• The Marble Index
• Amanda Marshall
• Mary and The Black Lamb
• Metric
• Kim Mitchell
  • Also, he's the disc jockey for Q107 in Toronto.
• Alanis Morissette
• Moxy Früvous
• Neverending White Lights
• Nihilist Spasm Band
• Our Lady Peace
• Peaches
• Pilot Speed
• Protest The Hero
• Prozzäk
• Red Rider
• Stan Rogers
• Rough Trade
• Rush
• Saga
• Sarah Slean
• Serena Ryder
• Ron Sexsmith
• Radio DJ Chris Sheppard and his dance groups BKS and Love Inc.
• Silverstein
• Sum 41
• Tamia
• The Tea Party
• Teenage Head
• Ian Thomas
• Thornley
• Three Days Grace
• Thousand Foot Krutch
• Tokyo Police Club
• Toronto
• The Tragically Hip
• Treble Charger
• Triumph
• Shania Twain
• Hawksley Workman
• Walk Off The Earth
• Neil Young

Prince Edward Island

• Tara Maclean
• Paper Lions
• Tim Chaisson and The Morning Fold
• Two Hours Traffic
• Meaghan Blanchard
• The Grass Mountain Hobos
• Haywire
• Boxer The Horse
• Arrows in the Air

Quebec

• The Agonist
• Arcade Fire
• Bowser and Blue
• Terri Clark
• Cœur de Pirate
• Leonard Cohen
• Les Cowboys Fringant
• Cryptopsy
• Celine Dion
• The Dears
• Garou
• Gregory Charles
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor (and Constellation Records)
  • Also Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra (as they're known as at the time of writing)
• Handsome Furs
• Corey Hart
• Tim Hecker
• Kataklysm
• Despised Icon
• Jon Lajoie
• Luba
• Malajube
• Marie-Mai
• Mashmakhan
• The McGarrigle sisters
• Mes Aieux
• Men Without Hats
• Frank Mills
• Mobile
• Aldo Nova
• Bruno Pelletier
• Oscar Peterson
• Sam Roberts
• Simple Plan
• Stars
• The Stills
• Sunset Rubdown
• Les Trois Accords
• David Usher (started his career with Moist, a band formed in British Columbia)
• Gino Vannelli
• Voivod
• Rufus Wainwright

Saskatchewan

• Colin James
• Streetheart
• The Waltons
• The Sheepdogs
• Wide Mouth Mason